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Chapter 34 | Guise
I came to a halt when I noticed a glint of eyes from afar, the smoke blurring the light. With a sinking feeling, I took a step forward to get a better look. My heart started racing, and the cougar stared at me, unfazed by my human form. I didn't have my bow on me for some reason. Other than a tiny pocket knife, I was also missing all of the other weapons I usually carried. I waited with increasing trepidation, hoping it would leave me alone and spare my life. The cougar took a slow step forward, and I took a cautious step backward, never breaking away from its gaze. The cougar charged after my shoe cracked a twig. I jumped to the side and shifted into my wolf form, allowing the cougar's leap to fly high above my runt wolf form. This form was even worse; a cougar is at the advantage of our chase and would not hesitate on chewing my back paw. There were no bushes or rabbit burrows to be found. The cougar turned and leaped once more. I darted to the side, shifting back and grabbing a l
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Chase Chapter 35 | Guide
Tiffany was discussing a fancy dress she was trying to get a store to bring in for her. I mostly ignored her because dresses didn't pique my interest. My fashion sense was along the lines of ‘if it keeps me warm and dry, it's good.' She froze in mid-sentence, and I sensed a wave of disbelief wash over her. When I looked at her, I noticed she was staring at me with wide eyes. Nix, Chloe, and Greg were all staring at her, perplexed.Tiffany leaned over and gently yanked the wide strap of my tank top to the side, exposing the mark on my shoulder. Her pupils dilated."And when did this happen?! I thought Nix seemed strangely relaxed, but I didn't expect this yet." She took a deep breath and a wave of frustration passed through her mind. "I can't even pick up your scent under Nix's to see if it's changed now that you are marked. Did you roll in a pile of leaves again? You seem to smell pretty strongly of the forest again," she grumbled.Chloe and Greg both look
Chase Chapter 36 | Gear
"Are you ready? Do you need any help setting something up?" Nix asked."I got everything done this morning, and it's all waiting in that meadow," I replied. "I'm looking forward to this.Nix let out a soft chuckle. “I was surprised at how many people were interested. We had to turn people away to keep the class small enough. You could do this a few times."I shook my head. "I have no objections to doing this again if it’s going to be successful. It will be easier with a maximum of fifteen people. More than that will just create a flurry of scents as they experiment.”Nix planted a kiss on my hair. “Let’s go?”We made our way to the meadow, where I was going to demonstrate how to mask one's scent. I had set a limit of fifteen people but offered to let them take the class as many times as they wanted. Since Tiffany had taken off as quickly as she could yesterday, a couple of pack members had helped me set everythin
Chase Chapter 37 | Game
I trotted down the road. I could tell how close others were because of my senses, but I was more interested in their scent trails. They could cross the area in about 15 minutes if they trotted in one direction, but they weaved around in random directions as they tried to hide their scent while locating other people's scent trails.The group was currently sharing one separate group mindlink, mostly discussing whose trail they had encountered as they shared feedback. "Jones, you have too much pine in your scent; try diluting it with dandelion, oak, and some grass," I said via mindlink, sniffing the ground.His shocked voice returned. "How do you know it's me?"I sent some levity down the link. "Since we started, you've had some pine sap stuck on your back right paw."People's amusement or surprise sent ripples through the mindlink. They'd gotten a lot better over the course of the afternoon, and their progress was quite noticeable. They were more effective
Chase Chapter 38 | Grow
In disbelief, I looked at her. "I'm not sure if I heard you correctly, but do you want to go mushroom hunting with me?" Ruby was unfazed. "Yes." It was incomprehensible to me. She had approached me and asked if we could go mushroom hunting. I knew she hadn't had a good time the last time we did that. In fact, she had grudgingly agreed to it, as if it were an unpleasant guard assignment. Nix had asked her the previous time, enlisting the help of an old and powerful friend to persuade her to agree. I knew Nix wasn't going to be involved this time. Ruby appeared to feel compelled to press her case. "The cooks haven't had mushrooms in a while, and I know Nix doesn't want you going deeper into the forest without a fighter nearby." She was looking at me as if what she was suggesting was a simple everyday task that she didn't mind assisting with. But I could tell she was intensely focused, excited, and determined. For once, she didn't have the obvious look of intense concentration of a fi
Chase Chapter 39 | Greetings
I sat on a patch of grass, staring at the mushroom pile in front of me. Ruby's annoyance could be sensed off to the side. When I first ran with Nix, I was running through unfamiliar territory and doing fairly well. This time, I was already familiar with the terrain.Ruby had been attempting to catch me for several hours with no success. I'd lost her at least a dozen times, only to appear from the side and yip at her before fleeing again. She was having a hard time with it. She had prided herself on being a top fighter, so finding out she couldn't catch a runt was not a pleasant surprise.To be honest, I had used every trick I had up my sleeve for this exercise. She assumed I was simply running and hiding, but I had been collecting mushrooms while evading her. It was good evasion practice for me and using my size as an advantage, but the pile of mushrooms bigger than me was going to slow me down.I could feel her relocating my scent. I hadn't paused long enough t
Chase Chapter 40 | Grace
Nix looked up, surprised, as Ruby and I walked in, carrying bags of mushrooms. Due to her superior strength, she offered to carry both of the larger bags, leaving me to carry the single small bag.Nix received a long-suffering look from Ruby. "You're lucky to have Enforcer stamina because your little mate is a pain to keep up with once she enjoys being chased around."Nix began to laugh. "How did she persuade you to go mushroom picking again? I thought you despised it."She moaned as she tossed her bags to the floor. "I don't like picking mushrooms, but it allows me to talk to her about masked scent trails without being distracted – at least, that's what I thought. The most difficult challenge is simply keeping her on track. You can be in the middle of a conversation when she disappears behind a bush or abruptly changes the subject if she smells a truffle or an unusual plant."Nix looked stunned. He had obviously never heard Ruby talk so much in one
Chase Chapter 41 | Herald
I sat in a rocking chair on the porch, trying to knit a slipper while listening to those just in front of the pack house. Alpha Kalil had just finished his customary tour of the town and recent changes. The Alpha and Beta visitors appeared to be quite familiar with this location and must have visited on a regular basis. Everyone was at ease because it was a fairly informal visit. Any visit meant Nix would be busy. One of his roles is if a fight broke out within the Starblood pack territory, an Enforcer would step in, regardless of which Alpha or Beta or any wolf was involved.Alpha Kalil invited the Alpha inside for business talks, and the visiting Alpha advised his Beta to take a break for a while. I looked up as I saw the larger man follow Alpha Kalil inside, while a leaner man sat in a lawn chair, admiring the view of our town. I blinked slowly and reached out with my senses before returning my attention to the man inside Alpha Kalil’s office and the relaxed one stil
Chase Chapter 42 | Happy
‘Alpha’ Trevor and ‘Beta’ Mike had left in good spirits a few days before, with the assurance that we would not blow their cover. As the days passed, I began to learn more about the pack I was in. I was surprised by how much I liked being a part of a pack.I took a break in the trees behind the pack house and relaxed in the sun. I climbed one of the trees with a bulky branch and lay on top of it. Nix's face appeared in my mind as I allowed my thoughts to wander. His smile and scent continued to captivate me. I found myself loving Nix more and more with each passing day, and I smiled happily at the thought. I knew he was training the fighters today, so I debated going over to observe them or walking around the town.After a few minutes, I finally made a plan to just walk around the town and then visit Nix on the training field. When I looked down from the branch, Tiffany was kissing a guy in a remote corner of the garden. They'd only returned the night before, and I hadn't yet met Nath
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